


Monsters Under the Bed

by pepperbella129



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst and Fluff and Smut, Awesome Darcy Lewis, BAMF Darcy Lewis, Canon-Typical Violence, Cap just found out Bucky is alive, Clint Barton & Darcy Lewis Friendship, Dad Steve Rogers, Darcy Lewis & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Darcy is the fandom bicycle and I love it, F/M, Fluff, Porn with Feelings, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Protective Steve Rogers, Sexy Times, ShieldShock - Freeform, Steve Rogers Feels, darcy and cap are married, they have a son
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-22
Updated: 2016-08-19
Packaged: 2018-06-03 19:12:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6622852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pepperbella129/pseuds/pepperbella129
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inspired by a tumblr prompt from mcgregorswench<br/></p><div class="tumblr-post">
  <p> </p>
  <p>    <a href="http://mydoctorisnine.tumblr.com/post/143120295867/mcgregorswench-shieldshock-okayheres-a">http://mydoctorisnine.tumblr.com/post/143120295867/mcgregorswench-shieldshock-okayheres-a</a><br/></p>
</div>In which Steve and Darcy have a son, and while Steve is away on a mission Darcy discovers she is pregnant and eventually gives birth to their daughter. Steve is enamored but Joey is jealous, and afraid to lose his dad.
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so first of all, I have no beta, so all errors are my own. Wanna be my beta? Let me know, I'm in desperate need of one.  
> Secondly, this is my first Marvel fic and my first fic based on a tumblr prompt. Comments and Kudos are my lifeblood, please leave some!  
> This is Post CA:TWS and pre/during/after AOU. I'll try to remain as canon compliant as possible, unless it totally clashes with my storyline.  
> Updates on Fridays.

 

Darcy looked at the comm unit, her eyes glazing and hands shaking, as Steve said, “Bucky?” in a voice she’d never heard before. He couldn’t mean HIS Bucky, right? James Buchanan Barnes was dead and gone, she’d been to his grave. She sat in her and Steve’s apartment, twisted her wedding ring, and cried. Darcy couldn’t decide which was worse, that Bucky might be alive or that someone could be impersonating him. She knew Steve wouldn’t come home until the mission was over, he never did. Once he was “Captain America”, he refused to return until the threat was neutralized, for her and Joey’s safety. She realized, with dawning horror, that this time the threat might never be contained. If it was Bucky, Steve’s Bucky, everything had changed. Everything.

But he did come home. He came, finally, in the middle of the night. After dropping his gear, he headed straight for Joey’s room, and Darcy followed silently. He entered the bedroom the way a police officer enters a dangerous location – automatically checking for threats, low and coiled for action. It was the aftermath of the mission, she knew. After a few days, his brain would register that no one was hiding in their home, and this compulsion to clear every room would fade. She vividly remembered the first time he had done this, they’d only been married seven months when he fought in the Battle of New York. He returned to her, battle weary and lost, and checked her entire apartment for Chitauri eleven times in three hours. She’d finally calmed him down the only way she knew how – old movies and peanut butter cookies. That time it had been “Casablanca”, and they had spent the night on her couch together, tangled in each other not for erotic purposes, but comforting ones.

“ _Darce_ ” Steve sighed, after kissing a sleeping Joey on the forehead and closing the door ¾ of the way. “ _It was all a lie. SHIELD, Fury, Rumlow, Nat, they all lied to me. To my face. And Buck….oh God, **Buck**._ ” The pain in his voice was echoed in his eyes, so she reached for him, pulling her husband into her arms and holding him tightly. “ _Let it out, honey. Here you don’t have to be Cap. Let it out._ ” Darcy rubbed his back as he sobbed, the anger at his betrayers and the pity for Bucky fighting within her head. “ _We’ll find him, Steve. We’ll find Bucky, and bring him home. Whatever it takes._ ” She knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that if Bucky was alive Steve wouldn’t rest until he was safe, and with them. He pulled away, walking the length of the living room and picking up a framed portrait from their wedding, a candid shot she loved of the whole team together, smiling and laughing. He rubbed his thumb over her face, caught mid-laugh and gazing at him. “ _He’s alive, Darce. Bucky is alive. And he knew me. Not at first, but in the end, he knew me. And I don’t even know if he survived. Nat says he had to, that I would have drowned unless it was Buck that pulled me out of the Potomac. How is he alive? What did they do to him? What do I do now?_ ”

“ _I remember that day, Steve. Every minute, every laugh, every dance. I remember it all. Do you?_ ”

“ _Of course I do, Darcy. It was the greatest day of my life, up until that moment. And then, Joey was born. My son. Just when I thought I couldn’t possibly love you any more, you gave me Joseph Buchanan Lewis Rogers, and I damn near exploded with love. For both of you. And that’s why this is killing me. While I was here, living a charmed life with the most beautiful woman in the world and an amazing son, somewhere out there Hydra was using Bucky, torturing him and forcing him to kill. How could I not know? He’s my best friend. At least he was. I love you, Darcy Rogers, more than I can ever explain. And I love Joey. Joey is the reason I’m still Cap, the reason I fight. To make the world safe for him. But Buck and me, we’re connected. We’re two halves of the same whole. I should have felt him, I should have looked for him all those years ago._ ” Steve put the frame down, and turned to Darcy, his hands spread. “ _I failed him. I failed my brother._ ” He sagged where he stood, and in that moment, her heart broke. But she knew who she needed to call. Retrieving her cell phone from the charger, she texted rapidly, and got an answer in less than a minute.

**DR** : “ _Janey, is Thor on planet?_ ”

**JF** : “ _Yea, he’s in NY at the Tower. Need him?_ ”

Darcy tapped her contact list, and called Thor’s cell phone. He answered on the first ring. “ _Greetings, little lightning sister. Is everything well with you and my godson?_ ”

“ _T, Steve is home. He’s home, and things have happened, and he’s broken, and I can’t fix him. There’s a problem, a problem I’ll let him explain to you, but I feel like you could really help him here, considering your brother’s batshit crazy and all - can you come?_ ”

“ _I am on my way, Darcy. If Steven has need of me, I shall arrive imminently. Please unlock your balcony doors, I will attempt to quell the thunder so as not to wake Joseph._ ” Darcy heard a click as the call was terminated, and she walked to the balcony to do as she was told. “ _Steve? I called Thor. Since he’s not SHIELD, and he’s kinda not human, the other events of this mission don’t really affect him. But he knows about brothers, and betrayal, and feeling like you’ve abandoned them. Loki really did a number on him. I think he can help you, if you let him._ ” Thor tapped on the glass balcony doors, only a slight rumble of thunder sounding in his wake. She nodded and gestured for him to come in, and he quickly closed the distance between them. Enveloping her in a warm hug, he asked “ _Where is he?_ ” Darcy pointed to the living room, sliding into her desk chair as Thor strode away. Powering up her laptop, the low rumble of voices from the other room surprisingly comforting, she decided since she wasn’t going back to sleep, work was an option.

Since the whole chaos situation in London, Darcy had stopped working for Jane and was now employed as a freelance PR consultant, generally only taking contracts from people she knew. Her current work revolved around Stark Industries, and she managed the social media accounts for Steve as well as most of the other Avengers, except Nat. Nat was surprisingly good at social media. Clint, however, was hopeless. She checked each of their accounts, answering a few comments or tweets, and blocking anyone who seemed either too curious or too aggressive. Then she checked her own email, and remembered her interview with Annie Marlow, the EIC of a women – in – business magazine, was tomorrow – wait, today. Darcy had agreed to the interview because Marlow had promised a business piece, asking only a handful of preapproved questions about Steve and Joey and focusing on her PR firm, “JBLR Publicity”. She pulled up the questions, and began typing her answers.

**CAN YOU TELL ME HOW YOU MET STEVE?** _Well, sure, why not….Erik and Janey started quietly working with Stark after New Mexico, combining resources and all that. I went along for the ride, and actually ended up finding my true calling in PR. Tony brought Steve to my workspace one day, he was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of people contacting him through various social media sites and needed help. I spent a few days sorting out his accounts, and teaching him proper internet etiquette, and then he asked me out. The rest, as they say, is history._

**HOW ABOUT HIS PROPOSAL, AND YOUR WEDDING?** _Steve proposed to me…hm…Steve proposed to me at a location that is very personal for both of us, and obviously I said yes. We married less than three months later, not for any gossip-y reason but because it just felt right. Our anniversary is in September. The Avengers all attended, and we had a great time. Joey followed in August of the next year, I was pregnant with him when the Battle of New York happened. It was terrifying. TELL ME ABOUT JOSEPH. He’s the light of our lives, our sweet, kind, thoughtful, funny little man. He worships his Pop, but (shhh) his favorite superhero is actually Iron Man (Unkie Tony to him). He’s going to be 2 soon, and we adore him._

**YOU’VE BEEN THROUGH A LOT TOGETHER (BATTLE OF NY, LONDON, ETC). HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR MARRIAGE STRONG?** _Ah, yes. The happy marriage question. Sex. Really. Steve and I make time for each other, which isn’t easy. You think your husband is busy? Try being married to Captain America. Sex is essential to our marriage, and Steve is very, very good at it._

Darcy smiled, knowing the fallout from that line would be interesting. She knew that while some people would read the article because they found her intriguing, or inspiring, most would read for information about Steve. Might as well throw them a bone.

**WHAT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE PHOTOS OF YOU KISSING IAN THE INTERN, AND THE RUMORS ABOUT STEVE AND NATASHA ROMANOV?** _Okay, all of this nonsense makes me very unhappy. And very angry. First, let’s address Steve and Nat. Nat is a close friend of mine, and of Steve’s. They have never, would never, are never hooking up. Ain’t gonna happen. Now, for me and Ian. Yes, I did kiss Ian. We had just been invaded by a race of angry Legolas wannabes and thought the world was coming to an end. Steve and I have discussed this, and we are both comfortable with the kiss and the ramifications for our relationship. That doesn’t mean that if Steve runs into Ian, he’s going to play nice. The guy kissed his wife, for Thor’s sake!_

Suddenly she realized she might be lying. Were her and Nat still friends? Were Steve and Nat? He said Nat had lied to him. About what? How much did she know about SHIELD? About Bucky? That would be too much betrayal for Darcy to forgive. If Nat knew about Bucky, and didn’t tell Steve, it was unforgivable. Darcy rose from her chair, feeling nauseous. Their world was changing, and she didn’t know who she could trust anymore. Running to the bathroom, she threw up in the toilet, flushed, and washed her face. Steve came to the doorway. “ _Thor just left._ ” He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, nuzzling his face into her neck. “ _You always know what I need, doll. How did I manage to snag such a great dame?_ ” Arching her back, Darcy smiled into the mirror. A little faster than usual, but Steve had moved into phase two of the post-mission recovery: copious amounts of affection and tender, caring sex. Steve murmured into her neck, his words unintelligible but seared into Darcy’s heart all the same: “ _I want you. I need you. I love you. Don’t ever leave me._ ” Over and over again, Steve’s litany had become as much a part of his post-mission recovery as a good meal or a shower. Steve’s advances were brought to an abrupt halt when a small, plaintive voice called from down the hall: “ _Pop? **Pop!**_ ” Darcy smiled as Steve disengaged himself from her, shrugging and walking down to Joey’s room. Even though his Pop was away as much as he was home, whenever Joey had a bad dream he called for Steve, not her. Darcy didn’t mind. If your dad is Captain America, who else do you call to scare away the monsters under your bed?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some fluffy fluff and some BAMF Darcy. Plus some Steve & Bucky Feels.

After brushing her teeth, Darcy made her way down the hallway to the master bedroom. Stopping outside Joey’s room, she eavesdropped as Steve soothed their little boy. “ _Pop, you home! Pop stop the monstas?_ ” Joey had a basic grasp of who Steve was, of what he did. Darcy and Steve had always told him that his Pop had to go away a lot to “keep the world safe from monsters”. They didn’t tell him that most monsters were people, not scary creatures with hundreds of eyes and tentacles.

“ _Yea, Buddy, Pop stopped the monsters. No more monsters around here. Now it’s time for you to go to sleep, little man. I’ll still be here in the morning._ ” Darcy held back tears as Steve began to sing, softly, a tune that his mother had sung as she worked.  
_“Life is just a bowl of cherries._  
_Don't take it serious; it's too mysterious._  
_You work, you save, you worry so,_  
_But you can't take your dough when you go, go, go._  
_So keep repeating it's the berries,_  
_The strongest oak must fall,_  
_The sweet things in life, to you were just loaned_  
_So how can you lose what you've never owned?_  
_Life is just a bowl of cherries,_  
_So live and laugh at it all.”_

This was his nighttime routine with Joey, when he was home it was his job to get the boy to bed. They’d talk, and laugh, and read, and then Steve would pull the covers up to Joey’s chin and sing. Almost always it would be a song from his childhood, a song that reminded him of his family. Steve wasn’t a great singer, but his voice was sweet and clear, and Joey loved it when his Pop sang. Steve came out of Joey’s room, linking his hand in Darcy’s as they made their way to bed.

The next morning, Darcy was flipping pancakes as Steve showered, and Joey came plodding down the hall. “ _Pcake, Mama, pcake! Where Pop?_ ” Just like his dad, Darcy thought with a smirk; food and the people he loves, that’s all Joey needs. “ _Pop is in the bath, Joe. He’ll be out soon. Ready for breakfast?_ ” She picked her son up, inhaling that sweet baby smell that still clung to him, and deposited him in the high chair. As she was cutting up his pancake and a sausage link, Steve came in.

“ _Good morning, beautiful. Hey there, slugger, what’s eats?_ ”

“ _Pcake, Pop, pcake and sassage!_ ” Joey dug into his meal with gusto, making Steve smile across the table as Darcy placed a plate stacked high in front of him. She gathered her own food, grabbed her coffee, and sat with her boys. She wished every day could be like this, sometimes being married to Captain America made it hard to be Mrs. Rogers. Steve caught her eye, and almost as if he was reading her mind, said “ _If every day could be like this, life would be perfect, wouldn’t it doll?_ ” As if to prove a point, their idyllic breakfast was interrupted by a knock on the front door. Steve rose to answer it, scooping a sticky, syrup covered Joey into his arms as he went. Darcy sipped her coffee, wondering who would need Steve at 8 am the day after a mission. She didn’t have to wonder for long.

“ _Mama, mama!_ ” Joey came barreling into the kitchen, losing his balance around the island and landing hard on his rear. He clutched a miniature steam engine in his hands, the train tooting and chugging loudly. “ _Looky, Annie Nat! Twain!_ ” He started pushing his new toy along the floor, crawling behind it and making a “chugga chugga” noise with every push. Natasha was here, then. She always brought a gift for Joey – she had an uncanny knack for finding great presents for the little boy. Darcy picked Joey up off the floor, carried him to his room with his new train, and set him down to play. She latched the baby gate behind her and strode into the living room. She hadn’t realize how angry she was at SHIELD and all the people who had hurt Steve, but it came to a head when she saw Nat draped across her favorite reading chair.

“ _ **You.** What are you doing here? You know Steve needs his down time after a mission, he needs to decompress and reconnect with his family again. How can you stand here, in my living room, in our **HOME** , after betraying him? You bring toys to my son, you came to our wedding! I **TRUST** you to keep him safe on these goddamn missions, Natasha! You, you…I thought I had a friend in you. I thought we were close. And the whole time you were lying to Steve, lying to both of us?_ ” By this time, Nat was looking a little uncomfortable, like she’d rather be anywhere else, but Darcy could only see half of her face around Steve, who had placed himself between the two women when his wife started yelling. He knew Nat would never hit Darcy, would never even lift a finger in her own defense, but Darcy was another story. She was angry, and a definite scrapper. Like he used to be. As Darcy took a deep breath, opening her mouth for the next attack, another voice entered the fray.

“ _Whoa, killer. Steve and Nat figured out their issues. If I were you, I’d back off._ ” In her anger, Darcy had neglected to register the other person in the room: a tall, dark skinned man she didn’t know. She spun on her heel, the anger still seething and erupting. “ _Who the almighty fuck are you, and what are you doing in my house?_ ”

“ _I’m Sam. Sam Wilson. I live in D.C., and these two allowed me to tag along on the mission. I realize it’s inappropriate for me to be in your home without having been properly introduced, but since you went for Nat’s throat before I could, allow me to do so now.” He walked over, extending his hand and half smiling. “Darcy Lewis Rogers, I assume? Nice to meet ya. Your husband’s an interesting and annoying man._ ” Steve shook his head as Darcy and Sam shook hands, and then slid an arm around her waist.  
“ _Darce, Sam. Sam, Darcy. I am not annoying. But otherwise he’s right, honey. I don’t have any problems with Nat anymore. She was there for me, she helped me. We brought down SHIELD together. With Sam. These are people we can trust, doll. Now calm down._ ”

Darcy was so angry, she could feel hot tears pricking her eyes. “ _Fine. All three of you were there. All three of you did all that damage I saw on TV. All three of you saw Fury rise from the dead, and SHIELD implode. All three of you saw Bucky, knew that it was Bucky, fought him. So sit down. NOW. And tell me what you can. I’m sure you’re both here to take my husband away, to try to find Bucky. I’m fine with that, if he’s alive I want him home. But before you go, I need information. I’m trusting you with my heart, my life, and I need to know you can handle that responsibility. No one leaves until I say you can._ ”

Natasha raised her hand, and Darcy stifled a giggle at the dangerous spy and assassin asking to talk like a child in grade school. She nodded, allowing Nat to speak for the first time. “ _Can I go to the bathroom? I’ll check on Joey while I’m down there._ ” She stood as Darcy shifted, giving Nat the room to rise from the chair. “ _Darcy, we are friends. I care about you, as much as I’m capable of anyway. I wouldn’t harm Steve. I value your trust. Please just let us explain. If you’re still angry with me at the end, I’ll leave._ ”

Hours later, Natasha sat in the kitchen reading to Joey as Darcy prepared dinner for the four adults and her son. Sam and Steve had gone out, something about checking on Steve’s bike, which was over at the Tower for repairs. Nat kissed the top of the boy’s head, and angled her eyes at Darcy. “ _We have to find him, if we can. You know that. Steve won’t let this rest until we bring Bucky home._ ”

“ _I know, Nat, I know. But can you keep him safe on this hunt? It’s HYDRA, they’d do anything to stop Steve. And how much of Bucky is in there? He tried to kill you guys, twice. What will Steve do if he has to fight him again? Can he do it? I won’t lose him. I can’t._ ” Darcy braced herself against the kitchen counter, drawing in a shaky breath. “ _I don’t know how to do this._ ”

“ _Do what?_ ” Steve and Sam were back, and naturally had come in without a sound. Steve eased up to Darcy, pulling her to him and running his hands through her thick hair. “ _I think we should leave Joey with these two and go out tonight. I’d like some time alone with you, doll._ ” He kissed her neck, sliding his hands from her hair to the small of her back, pulling her to him until they melded together.

“ _Ugh, get a room you two!_ ” Nat covered Joey’s eyes and he laughed at the game, grabbing her fingers and peeping through them. “ _Uck, Pop!_ ”

“ _That’s the plan…_ ” Steve winked at Darcy and palmed her ass, chuckling when she let out a squeak. “ _See, there’s this gorgeous dame, and I’ve got plans to charm her into my bed. But there’s this adorable guy who holds all her attention, so I’ve recruited a hot redhead to distract him. Go get dressed, dollface. I wanna dance with my girl tonight._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Steve sings to Joey is called "Life Is Just A Bowl of Cherries", popular in 1931. I've linked it at the end of the chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Date night for Mr and Mrs Rogers - fluff with some heavy Bucky guilt thrown in.

Darcy had emailed her interview in earlier, so she was free for the rest of the evening. She showered and dressed, taking care to choose clothes she knew Steve liked: a figure skimming, cleavage baring blue dress, red heels, and a red lipstick he always called “ _Fuck Me Red_ ”. Modern but timeless, that was Steve’s preference. And while Darcy had never been one to dress (or act, or talk, or anything) to please a man, there was something special about dressing to please your husband, the man you love. He knocked on the bathroom door as she was applying a final coat of mascara, signaling that he was ready when she was. He’d be sitting on the edge of the bed, she knew – he liked to see her as soon as she was finished. She opened the bathroom door, and walked into the bedroom, enjoying the way his eyes followed her around the room to her nightstand and the jewelry box on it. After putting in her earrings, she held out a pearl necklace for him to put on her. Steve was behind her, taking the necklace from her hands, before she registered that he had moved from his perch. He swept her heavy auburn hair to the side, fingers lingering on the nape of her neck when she sighed. Fastening the pearls, he kissed between her shoulder blades, giving her goosebumps all up and down her arms. Darcy turned around and looked in Steve’s eyes, basking in the love she saw shining from them. “ _Let me just kiss Joey goodbye, and we can go. Are you sure Nat’s okay with him overnight? We could come back after dancing if it’s too much for her_.”

“ _Darce, she’s a SHIELD trained Russian assassin and super spy. She’s toppled regimes, fought aliens, and done it all without messing up her hair. I’m sure she can handle a two year old for half a day. He’ll be asleep most of the time, anyway._ ” Darcy smiled. Steve clearly had no idea how much damage Joey could do in one day. After kissing Joey goodbye, giving lots of advice to Nat, and promising to read “Where the Wild Things Are” every night forever, Darcy was finally dragged out the door by her husband.

“ _Jeepers, Darce. You’d think we were going away for a year, not a night. He’ll be fine. They’ll be fine. We haven’t really been alone since Joey was born, and I need this tonight. If that makes me a bad dad, then so be it, but tonight I need your undivided attention. I need to make you laugh, watch you eat, dance until our feet are sore. I need to take you back to a room with a ridiculously big bed, and no toddler in the next room, and have all night to lose myself in you. I need the smell of your skin, the softness of you, the little sighs you make in those private moments. I need to give, and to take. I need to hear my name on your lips – softly, like a prayer, and then loudly, like a plea. I need you, Darcy._ ” Steve rubbed his thumb across her lips, then bent to kiss her as they rode the elevator downstairs. Again, they fit together perfectly, as if they were made exactly for one another. Darcy leaned into the kiss, nipping Steve’s lush lower lip and gliding her hands across his arms.

“ _Wow, Cap. With a speech like that, I bet you make all the panties drop._ ” Darcy smiled, blatantly checking him out. “ _Then again, you’re so pretty you probably don’t have to talk all that much._ ”

Steve smirked, nuzzling into Darcy’s ear as the elevator doors opened on the lobby “ _There’s only one pair of panties I’m worried about, doll._ ” She blushed as the doorman saw them standing there, and disengaged as he reached for the lobby doors.

They hailed a cab, and Steve had a conversation with the older driver about New York as they drove to a supper club. When they pulled up in front, Darcy pulled Steve’s face to hers, angling his head so she was speaking into his ear. “ _You know what, Cap? I’m worried about my panties, too. I seem to have left them at home…_ ” Steve flushed crimson, grabbed her hand, and helped her out of the car. After paying and tipping the cabbie, he guided her into the club, casually sliding a hand down her back to check if she was telling the truth. His grin stretched ear to ear when he reached her tailbone and felt only the silky, slinky fabric of her dress, no lines or lace.

“ _Why, Mrs. Rogers. I believe you are trying to seduce me. Let me put you out of your misery- you are succeeding spectacularly. Now I wish we hadn’t decided on dinner AND dancing. Rain check?_ ” Darcy slid into the banquette a waiter indicated, watching as Steve got waylaid by no less than a dozen people asking for pictures and autographs. She picked up her menu, chewing on her lower lip as she perused the entrees. Feeling the bench seat shift, she knew Steve had completed his “fan requirement” for the restaurant and was seated next to her. She could feel the heat radiating off of him, Steve always ran hot, some sort of side effect of the serum. Darcy lowered her menu, and caught Steve twisting his napkin in his large hands - a sure sign his mind was elsewhere.

“ _Tell me about Bucky_.”

He jerked his head up, barely meeting her eyes, and then glanced around the restaurant. “ _He’s my best friend, Darce. Buck and I were more than friends, we were brothers. Before this,”_ he gestured at himself, meaning his transformation into Captain America, _“Buck was the one who always took care of me. I was almost always sick, and he was there. He worked hard for the money to buy my medicine; he tried, and failed, to make soup like my Ma’s. I was the kind of kid who picked fights to prove myself, to show people I wasn’t worthless because of my size and ailments, and he saved me from getting killed more times than I can tell you. Then Buck enlisted, and I felt more useless than ever. I’d failed the health exams so many times, dozens. And he was accepted on the first try. But of course he was, that’s who Bucky was. Charming, effortless, resourceful. The army was lucky to have him. Buck shipped out, and you know what happened next. What you don’t know, what I never said, was that I agreed to Erskine’s experiment, to climb into Stark’s crazy machine, because I needed to be there for Buck. He had always had my back, and I felt like I was leaving him twisting in the wind, not being at his side on the front. When I went to that show, and found out that Buck, and the rest of the 107th, had been captured, I went rogue and infiltrated the compound, just to save him. Stark and Peggy helped me. Everyone talks about my heroism, my patriotism, but in reality I was a man facing the loss of the last person he had in the world. I just couldn’t give him up. Those missions with Buck and the Commandos were some of the best times of my life. When he fell from that train, Darce, I about jumped after him. I believed him dead, lost to me forever. So later, when that plane couldn’t be disarmed, and I thought it was the end, I was okay with it. I figured, if there is an afterlife, surely God would let me and Bucky be together; that no one could be cruel enough to separate brothers a second time. Then I’d have my friend back. I felt bad, leaving Peggy like that, but I thought it was the only way. I had accepted my death, I was going willingly into the nothingness. And the next thing I remember, I woke up. I had to face this new world alone. For the first time in my memory, I didn’t have Bucky by my side. He was really and truly gone. I had never felt so lonely, so alien. Fury introduced me to Tony, and I met you. Suddenly, I wasn’t so alone. I had found the other half of my heart, the missing piece of my soul. I think part of me knew, from the first moment I saw you, hunched over that cluttered desk in your office, hair yanked messily on top of your head, chewing on a pencil and murmuring to yourself, that you were the one for me. Funny that I had to be “the man out of time” to find you, that you breezed into my life at the moment when I was feeling the most lost, and became my compass. Even then, even when I was deliriously happy, ridiculously in love with you, I still missed him. The day we married, in the midst of all that joy and love, I felt his absence. He should have been next to me, telling funny stories in his toast and sweeping you off your feet on the dance floor. He should have been there, smiling and laughing. He would have loved that day – Buck was always the life of the party. To know that he was out there, somewhere, probably being tortured and forced to kill, having his memories ripped from him as if he didn’t deserve them, makes me so furious. I want to leave, right now, to go hunt down what’s left of HYDRA and make them suffer, to kill them in ways that would make Nat squeamish. And then I want to find him. Wherever he is, **whoever** he is, I want to find him, and bring him home. Home to me, to us. **Home to himself**._ ” Steve took a deep breath, palms open on the table, and looked at Darcy. “ _You asked, doll. I’ve never said that much before, never been that honest before, but there it is. The Saga of Buck and Stevie. Because what people don’t know is that even after the serum was a success, Buck was always the hero, always the headliner of this show._ ”

Darcy looked back at her husband, reached out and laced her fingers through his. She squeezed tightly. “ _Bucky sounds wonderful, Steve. I can see why you care for him so deeply, why it’s so important for you to bring him home. I’m not going to pretend I’m okay with you leaving again so soon, knowing that this will be the longest trip yet, but I know it’s necessary for both of you. So I’ll do what I always do – stay here, take care of Joey, and wait for you to come home. And when you both come back this time, I’ll welcome him into our home and into our lives. Because no one you love this much could be anything but family. I don’t know him, but I already love him, because he took care of you when I couldn’t. Because he loves you. So let’s enjoy our dinner, do a little dancing, and spend some time giving each other something to remember. And then tomorrow, you can gather your team, and your gear, and go get Bucky._ ”

He smiled at her, that impish half smile that always made her feel weak in the knees, and kissed their intertwined fingers. “ _Just when I think I love you more than I ever have before, the most that anyone could ever love anyone else, you go and say something like that, and I’m falling again. You were made for me, Darcy Lewis Rogers, and I thank God every day for that. I don’t deserve you_.”

“ _You’re damn right you don’t Cap. Now what does a girl have to do to get a glass of wine and a breadstick around here? I’m starving!_ ” Steve chuckled, knowing Darcy was simply trying to lighten the mood, and she did it so well.

After dinner, they eased out onto the dance floor, and in honor of Cap the band played some big band standards from Steve’s youth, along with their regular set. They swing danced to standards by Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, and Artie Shaw. As a final nod to them, the last song of the night was Darcy and Steve’s wedding song, “Hold On” by Michael Buble. Steve whispered the lyrics in Darcy’s ear as he led her around the dance floor, the two of them lost in each other. When the song ended, the whole club applauded, and Darcy looked around to find that all the other dancers had left the floor to allow them their moment. Touched and embarrassed, Darcy did a small curtsy as Steve bowed, nodding to the bandleader. They left with promises to return, and headed uptown to the hotel room Steve had reserved for them.

 

 

["Hold On" - Michael Buble](https://youtu.be/6QCDJe4TcoI)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Sexy times in the hotel room. Steve is being surprisingly easy to write during sexy times, but Darcy is proving challenging enough for both of them. 
> 
> Thanks for all the kudos and comments, your kindness stokes the ego of the muse. Keep 'em coming!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bow chicka wow wow...nothing too explicit, but sexy times ahead. You've been warned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a short one, after Steve's ramblings last chapter and leading up to his hunt for Bucky, the happy couple needed some happy time.

Darcy followed him to the room door, his hand locked in hers, and waited as he opened it. While she called Nat to check on Joey, he busied himself clearing the room. Opening closets, checking in the shower stall, pulling the room darkening curtains closed. She saw that he had arranged for an overnight bag to be delivered here, and rummaged around for her pajamas in it. “ _Steve? Did you pack this bag? You forgot my pjs. I can’t sleep in this dress, we’ll have to call the concierge and get some sent up_.”

“ _Oh no, sweetheart, I didn’t forget anything. Trust me. I didn’t pack you any because you won’t need any tonight. Need any help with that dress?_ ” He crooked an eyebrow at her, and she felt weak in the knees again. He approached her from behind, walking his fingers from her tailbone to her shoulder blades along the zipper of her dress, and she shivered. “ _You know, I recall you saying earlier that we were going to give each other something to remember tonight._ ” He stealthily slid the zipper down, his breath hitching as she shrugged her shoulders and the dress pooled at her feet. “ _This is what I want to remember. You, like this. All softness and beauty and…God, Darce, you are stunning._ ” She glanced over her shoulder to see him standing a step back from her, his eyes raking from her head to her toes and back again. She had out on a lacy azure strapless bra that matched her dress, so now she was clad in only that, her jewelry, and her red heels. Unable to suppress it, a giggle burst from her lips, and it shocked Steve out of his trance. “ _Why are you laughing? Is there something funny about a man wanting his wife so much he actually hurts?_ ” Steve gestured to his pants, and Darcy licked her lips to see his erection straining the fabric.

“ _Steve, honey, it’s just so funny. I set out to seduce my husband, Steve Rogers, and as I’m standing here, naked except for a blue bra, red heels, pearls, and my pale skin, it occurs to me that I’m actually better dressed to arouse Captain America! Red, white, and blue! Tell me that isn’t funny!_ ” He looked her up and down again, tossed his head back, and let out a guffaw that shook the room.

“ _You…_ ”he wheezed, hand pressed to his side, “ _…you look like you should be in the Playboy “Avengers” issue. ‘Red, white, and blue, and ready for a star-spangled screw’ or something like that. Jeez, Darce, we could be billionaires just selling a shot of you looking over your shoulder like that. Your hair cascading down your back, dangerous curves, ass like a ripe peach, mile high fuck me heels. You’re a walking wet dream. What a lucky man I am._ ” He went back to her, turned her to face him, and freed her breasts from their restraint. “ _And these…Christ, Darce, these breasts could give a healthy man a heart attack. I’m pretty sure you had to marry me, because any regular fella would die of excitement before he even got his hands on you_.” She pulled the bra off the rest of the way, moaning softly when he stilled her hands as she reached for the ankle strap on her heel. “ _Leave them on._ ”

“ _Steve…_ ” she whined his name as she struggled with his suit jacket “ _Too many clothes. Take ‘em off. All of them. I need…skin. I need to touch you._ ” He stepped back from her to oblige, removing his jacket, shirt, pants, and toeing off his shoes and socks.  Reaching out and hooking her thumbs into his boxer briefs, she heard the intake of his breath against her skin as she yanked them down. She dragged her hands up the length of his legs, caressing his shins, thighs, hips, and abs as she straightened back up. “ _Better. Much better._ ” She backed up to the bed.

“ _Darcy…what is that?!_ ” She had sat on the edge of the bed, arms angled behind her to prop herself up. “ _On your hip, is that…my shield?_ ” While Steve was on this last mission, she had felt his absence more than ever before. Maybe because Joey asked about him all the time, now that he could talk. She had wanted a permanent reminder of Steve, a sign that he was a part of her, that she was with him always. So she went to see a tattoo artist Pepper had recommended and vetted, and had him ink a tiny version of Steve’s shield, about the size of a compact, at the junction of her hip and pelvic bone. Steve touched it, lightly, and Darcy shuddered at the contact. He bent and pressed a kiss to the spot, and her hips bucked involuntarily. “ _God, Darcy. This is…perfect._ ” He reached up and laid a hand over her heart, the other arm wrapped around her with his fingers grazing the tattoo. “ _I’m always with you, here, and now I’ll know you’re always carrying me with you, always wearing your love like a beacon, even if I’m the only one that knows this is there._ ” She felt the shift in the room as he gazed at her, and wasn’t entirely surprised when he slid her sideways on the bed, pushing her legs open and notching himself between them. “ _Tell me, Darcy. Tell me you need me like I need you. Tell me you miss me when I’m gone, that you ache for me at night when you’re alone in our bed. Tell me that you can’t breathe when we’re like this, so I know I’m not struggling for air alone._ ”

“ _Oh, Steve…_ ” Darcy cocked one hip, just enough that he was rubbing against her in the most delicious, perfect friction. “ _Steve, I can’t think, I can’t sleep, I can’t live when you’re gone. I want you, always, right here._ ” Her hand snaked between them, grasping Steve firmly and guiding him into her. With a slow thrust of his hips, Steve completed the connection, as Darcy snatched at his shoulders and let out a low groan of pleasure.

“ _Shit, Darcy. Stop making noises like that or I’ll be done before we get started._ ” She writhed and moaned beneath him, hands grabbing and clawing at whatever was close enough as he stroked in, then out, prolonging the climb for as long as he could.

“ _Enough, Steve_ ” she practically growled, driving her hips up against his, “ _If you don’t stop teasing right now I will stop this ride and make you go on your mission with balls as blue as your uniform. You know what I want, don’t make me beg._ ”

Steve pulled her up, twisting around and placing her on his lap, and with one hand one each hip and his face buried in her generous breasts he guided her up and down. Darcy threw her head back and exhaled, getting into the rhythm her and Steve had perfected years ago.

 

Sometime later, they lay in the bed, entwined in one another. She thought Steve was asleep, and so Darcy started shifting most of her body away from him; sleeping next to Steve was like sleeping alongside a space heater, plus she needed to pee. He had one of her legs caught between his, and his arm slung across her waist. She wriggled out from under his arm, and then rolled to the edge of the bed, trying and failing to free her leg from his. Without warning, she tipped over the edge and fell right off, landing with a loud thud on the hotel room floor.

“ _Oooffff_ ” she groaned, unraveling the sheet that had caught her up, and crawling to the end of the bed. “ _Smooth, Darce, real smooth._ ” she muttered, rubbing her tailbone in embarrassment.

“ _Well, I wasn’t going to comment and wound your pride, but that was a pretty spectacular fail there, doll._ ” Steve had a smug look on his face as he peered over the end of the bed at her.

“ _You jackass!_ ” she screeched, rising to her feet and throwing the now balled up sheet at his stupid grin, “ _You were awake? I was only trying to be all stealth because I didn’t want to wake you, you big jerk._ ”

_" Well, I wasn’t actually awake until you started to fall, and took the sheets and duvet cover with you. I could have reached out and grabbed you, I suppose, but then I wouldn’t have the memory of you going ass over elbows off the side of the bed. And man, is that a good one. Wait till I tell Nat!_ ”

“ _Don’t you dare, Steven Rogers! I promise you, if you tell Nat about this you will never see me naked again. EVER._ ” Darcy stalked into the bathroom, grabbing her hair brush from the top of the overnight bag as she went. Yanking it through the tangled mess Steve had made of her hair, she grumbled under her breath, making faces at the bathroom mirror. She had pretty much fought an entire argument with him in her head by the time she was done. Emerging from the bathroom, she found him asleep again, tucked into himself in a tight little ball facing the door. Quietly stepping to the bed, she brushed a lock of hair off his forehead and suddenly started to cry. Seeking refuge in the bathroom she let the tears fall, sniffling and gasping for air. Her husband was leaving. Steve was going on a mission he couldn’t afford to fail, a mission that would change their lives forever no matter the outcome. Darcy realized she was scared. Not of losing Steve to HYRDA, or some faceless enemy that the Avengers would battle, but to sorrow and grief. What if he never found Bucky Barnes? What if he did, and he wasn’t the Bucky that Steve had been looking for? Would he ever recover? Would she?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm kind of overwhelmed by the response this has been getting, I had written one other story before and then lost the bug, but this prompt really got the wheels turning again. Next chapter: Steve says goodbye, and Darcy says hello.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve heads out with Nat and Same to find Bucky, and Darcy & Joey spend an afternoon at the Tower with the remaining Avengers. Fluffy sweet, bring a toothbrush. <3

Darcy struggled into a pair of skinny jeans Steve had packed for her the next morning. These had always been one of her favorite pairs, but between the nasty rug burn down the side of one thigh from her fall the night before and a sneaking suspicion her ass had mysteriously expanded in the past three weeks, she was really not feeling them right now. Finally succeeding in getting them on and buttoned, Darcy pulled one of her favorite sweaters over her head and tousled her hair. Steve was rapidly texting, Darcy knew he was coordinating the mission to find Bucky. “ _Ready, G.I. Joe? I miss our boy._ ”

“ _Ha! G.I. Joe? I understood that reference. Sure thing, doll. If you’re ready, let’s go home. Want to stop for breakfast?”_ Steve grabbed the overnight bag and slung an arm around Darcy’s shoulders. _“I could really go for some waffles right now_.”

“ _No, honey, not today. I’m feeling weird, and Nat is probably ready to kill one or both of us by now. When you get back, we’ll go out for breakfast, okay? With Bucky._ ” The smile that lit up his face told her she’d said exactly the right thing.

 

Back at home, Joey had managed to get peanut butter in his hair, all over the walls, and somehow on the ceiling. All this because Nat had thought fried peanut butter and banana sandwiches made a great breakfast. Darcy sighed in resignation and grabbed her sticky, gooey boy from his high chair, taking him down the hall and depositing him in the bathtub. She wiped him clean, shampooed his hair, and had him changed into clean clothes by the time Nat and Steve restored the kitchen to proper order. Steve and Nat sat at the table, heads together, gesturing at a map displayed on Steve’s Starkpad. “ _Maybe he went under in one of the HYDRA safe houses? He wouldn’t know they‘ve been blown._ ” Steve’s brow furrowed in concentration, and he pointed at one in western North Carolina. “ _Far enough away from DC that he’d feel secure, but close enough for him to regroup and try to complete his mission, if that’s his desire._ ”

“ _I don’t think so, Steve. It doesn’t feel right. How do we know HYRDA hasn’t recaptured their asset by now? He’s been in the wind for four days. We need to face the fact that they may have found him first._ ” Nat avoided Steve’s gaze as she continued. “ _He may not be who you want him to be, Cap. He’s been a HYDRA asset for a long time now, they could have erased all the Bucky from his consciousness. He might only be the Winter Soldier at this point. And then what? Do we take him down?_ ”

“ _Enough, Natasha._ ” Darcy knew Steve was aware of what Bucky might have become, but he didn’t need to be reminded of it all the time. “ _Why don’t you gather your gear and your go bag, and give Steve a minute to say goodbye to me and to his son. No offense, Nat, I appreciate your babysitting Joey last night, but we need a minute before Steve turns into Captain America for the mission. Joey deserves that_.”

“ _Message received. And Darcy, I will bring him back to you, in the same shape you’re sending him out with me. I promise_.” Nat kissed Joey’s dark blonde hair, placed a hand on Darcy’s shoulder, and then left the room. They heard the apartment door open and shut, and Steve took Joey from Darcy’s arms.

“ _Listen up, little man. Pop has to go to work. I love you, so much, and I love your Mama too. Be good for her, do what you’re told, and try not to drive her too crazy, okay? Give your Pop a hug._ ”

Joey wrapped his tiny arms around Steve’s neck, squeezing and sniffling into his shoulder. “ _No, Pop, no go. Stay wif me, wif Mama. Puh-wheeze?_ ”

Darcy’s breath caught as she watched her husband, a man who had taken on Red Skull, Loki, Chitauri, and a corrupt SHIELD without even blinking, swallow hard and fight to keep tears at bay.

“ _Hey, Joey, hey now. Pop has to go. I wish I didn’t, pal, I really do. This time it’s for a good reason, though. No monsters this time. I’m gonna go find your Uncle James, and bring him home. You’re gonna love him, Joseph Buchanan Rogers, and he’s gonna love you even more. But first, Pop has to go find him, okay?_ ” Steve had pressed his forehead to the little boy’s, knowing he was too young to understand but wanting him to anyway.

“ _No monsters, Pop? Just a Unkie?_ ” Joey had ceased sniffling, and was looking at Steve curiously. " _Will he bing me a pressie?_ ” Darcy giggled as Steve barked out a laugh. Clearly, this boy was spoiled rotten, between Unkies Thor, Tony, Clint, and Bruce, Annie Jane, Annie Peppa, and Annie Nat, he got more than his fair share of “pressies”.

“ _I’ll make sure of it, pal. Now go find that train Auntie Nat brought you and play for a few minutes, I’ll come kiss you goodbye before I go._ ” Steve set the toddler down and he waddled off, muttering “Twain” and not looking back. “ _Oh, Darce. This never gets any easier. I wish it wasn’t this way, I wish I was what you deserve, a man who is home every night to help you shoulder the burden. I wish I could tell you that this is the last time, but you and I both know that would be an empty promise. I love you, doll. Stay safe while I’m gone. Call Clint, Bruce, or Tony if you need anything; they’ll be at the Tower._ ” He brushed the hair from her face and glanced at her, hating the sadness he saw there. “ _Christ, Darce, if it was anyone but Bucky…_ ”

“ _I know, sweetheart, I know. You need to do this, I understand. Just come back to me, to us, in one piece okay? And bring Bucky home. And text me often, let me know you’re okay. Video chat rules apply, if you’re gone more than one week I need to see your stupid face on my screen or I’ll call Clint and have him fly me to wherever you are just so I can kick your ass.”_ She wasn’t joking, and he knew it. _“I love you, god damn it. Come home to me_.”

“ _As if I could ever stay away._ ” He pulled her to him, gathering a thick handful of her hair and pulling lightly so that her face was angled up at him. She took a minute to memorize his face, eyes moist and shining, mouth slightly parted, before he dipped into her and she forgot everything but him kissing her. Satisfied that he had given her a proper farewell, he strode down the hall and planted a kiss on Joey’s head, laughing when Joey insisted on being picked up so he could plant one on Steve as well. He handed Joey to Darcy, and they walked him to the door. Holding his go bag, he looked at her. “ _You know what I want to hear, Darcy._ ”

“ _See ya later, American Pie. Try not to die._ ” She smiled and waited for him to complete the ritual.

“ _I’ll do my best, Miss Lewis. See you soon._ ” He planted one last chaste kiss on her lips, tousled the boy’s hair, and left, and she shut the door. Darcy set Joey down, and he toddled to his toy basket in the living room as she sank onto the couch and wept. Since the first time, when Steve went with the Strike team to locate and disable a terror cell, it was always the same. They never said ‘goodbye’. That word was too final. So they repeated the things they’d said, barely together three weeks, when he came to her office to let her know he was heading out. It was their good luck charm, this nonchalant farewell. He never failed to come home to her, whole and safe. But still she wept – he was right, it was never easy.

She sat for a while, watching Joey play, and then took out her phone to call Bruce. “ _Hey, Jolly Green Giant! I need a blood test, can you help a girl out?_ ”

“ _Hello, Darcy. I’m pretty sure I’ve asked you not to call me that. Do you want to come down here, or should I swing by this afternoon?_ ” Bruce was amused, she could tell – she was the only one besides Tony who got away with referring to the Hulk in a joking way.

“ _I’ll come down with Joey – he can visit with Tony and Pep while we take care of business. I’ll see you in about an hour, okay?_ ”

“ _Sure, Darcy. See you later._ ”

 

Darcy and Joey took her car to the Tower, parking in the Avengers garage and heading for the elevator. Once inside, she spoke to the air. “ _Hey, J-man! Up to Tony’s lab, please. Joey has a hankering to break something._ ”

“ _Certainly, Mrs. Rogers. Should I alert Sir of your imminent arrival? I believe he’s working with combustibles currently._ ” Jarvis alternated between calling her ‘Darcy’ and ‘Mrs. Rogers’, and she wasn’t sure why. She’d told him to call her by her first name when she first started working in the tower.

“ _Oh crap, yes please J. Toddlers plus combustibles equals at least one major injury. Thanks._ ” By the time they reached the lab floor, Joey was bouncing up and down in anticipation, and broke into an awkward run when the doors slid open.

“ _Unkie Tony, Unkie Tony!_ ” Jarvis opened all the doors in advance of the speeding boy, so he had a clear shot to Tony and the lab. “ _We do si-eense today? Do si-eense wif Joey, Unkie Tony! Where Unkie Boose?_ ”

Darcy could hear Tony chuckling as she trailed behind her son, he was always up for doing “experiments” with the little boy. Joey adored him for it, and Darcy had more than a small hunch that her boy would one day be side by side with “Unkie Tony”, creating something she’d have to smack them both upside the head for. “ _Hey, Tony. I have a few things to do here today, thought you might like some company._ ” She smirked when she saw Joey halfway across the lab, standing upright in the open shell of Tony’s suit. He only came up to thigh height, but he was so proud of himself.

“ _Mama, mama, look! I Iron Man!!!_ ” Joey giggled and posed, then climbed out and ran for Tony, squealing as the dark haired man scooped him up and threw him in the air.

“ _There’s my best assistant! I’ve been looking all over for you, Joe. We have some big, big science to do today. Are you ready?_ ” Tony couldn’t help the smile that stretched his face as Joey bucked and twisted in his arms, trying to see all the projects and inventions around the room. “ _I got him, Darce. Go get some work done, he’s no trouble. Let’s meet up in my quarters with Pepper for lunch, okay? About 1?_ ”

Darcy left the lab, walking to Bruce’s lab and med bay. As much as he liked to insist he wasn’t “that kind of doctor”, she knew he appreciated having access to exam rooms and a medical lab, if only for testing himself. “ _Hey Angry Angry Hippo- what’s shakin?_ ” Bruce glanced up as she entered his lab, then shook his head and grimaced.

“ _Angry, angry hippo? That’s a new one. Can’t say I like it all that much. Are you okay, Darcy? What do you need a blood test for? No one’s slipped you anything, have they? You know what a big target you are, married to Steve and family to the rest of us. Are you and Joe being safe? Do you want to stay here in the tower while Steve’s gone?_ ” Bruce adjusted his glasses and blinked at her, worry plain on his face.

“ _Calm down, you big softy. I’m fine. I need a blood test now for the same reason I needed one last time – I’m pretty sure I’m pregnant. About 6 weeks, if my math is right. Also, since Steve was in DC and elsewhere for the past month, that math had better be correct or we are talking some immaculate conception type pregnancy right now._ ”

Bruce looked at her again, eyes traveling from her face, to her waist, and back again. “ _Is this good news, Darcy? I mean, I want it to be good news, I’m so happy for you and Steve, and you know I love Joe, but is this what you want?_ ”

She leaned across the worktable and planted a kiss on Bruce’s cheek. “ _Oh, you sweet, sweet man. Thank you. Yes, this is what I want. So much what I want. Don’t worry, I knew what I was getting into when I married Mr. Save-the-World, I accepted it ages ago. But yea…this is what I want._ ”

The disheveled scientist pushed his glasses back up his nose again, cheeks tinged red, and gestured to her arm. “ _I just need a small sample, and it will only take about 30 minutes to run it. Since you’re here, and giving blood, would you mind if I took a second sample to do a few tests of my own? I’m curious, if after being with Steve for so long, and carrying Joey, if any of the ‘super soldier’ part of Steve’s DNA has transferred to you. From saliva, or sweat, or, uh, hm, semen. We know Joey has some of the DNA, since we tested him after birth, but I’m wondering about you._ ” Darcy couldn’t help but laugh, the man who had just offered her an out if she didn’t want to be pregnant was stuttering and avoiding her eyes after using the word ‘semen’.

“ _So basically, we’re wondering if doing the nasty can give someone else super soldier genes? Interesting. You don’t have to be embarrassed, Bruce. I know this is unheard of, a super soldier jacked up on serum having unprotected sex with a normal human, and the results could tell us a lot about Steve and about Erskine’s serum, maybe even give us the missing piece to synthesize it, right? So drain me, Count Hulkula._ ” Darcy raised an eyebrow and stuck out her arm, as Bruce prepared the test kits.

“ _I’ll draw the vial for the test first, and get that running, and then take the blood for the serum tests. You’re going to feel a little pinch._ ” Bruce busied himself taking the blood and beginning the pregnancy test, and Darcy looked around the lab while he worked. Bruce’s lab was always meticulous, almost zen-like in its organization and sparsity. Such a contrast from Tony’s lab, things always strewn everywhere and Dum-E and the other bots whirling around making more problems than they were solving. After he took three more vials for the serum analysis, Bruce stuck a bandage on her arm and nodded. “ _You’re free to go, Darcy. Why don’t you go see what Jane and Thor are up to, and I’ll have Jarvis let you know when the results come back. Take care of yourself, kid._ ”

She was being shown the door, and he was trying to be nice about it. Knowing Bruce, he had been wanting to get this hands on some of her blood for ages, and this was just the first time he felt like he could ask. He was probably dying to run all kinds of tests now.  “ _Sure, Bruce. Listen, we’re all having lunch in Tony’s apartment around 1, why don’t you join us. I’ll see you then?_ ” She didn’t wait for an answer, but on the way out the door she spoke to Jarvis. “ _J, set a reminder for Dr. Banner to join us in Tony’s apartment for lunch at 12:50, please._ ”

“ _It is done, Darcy. Prince Thor and Lady Jane are in the gym, he is training and she is reading. Would you like to go there?_ ”

“ _Yes please, J-man._ ” Darcy stepped into the elevator and waited. “ _Hey, J – why do you call me by two different names? Sometimes I’m Darcy, sometimes Mrs. Rogers. Why?_ ”

“ _It is a sign of respect, Mrs. Rogers. Married to the Captain means you are the partner of the highest authority I recognize, besides Sir. In combat situations, I have even been programmed to recognize and put into action Captain Rogers’ orders above everyone else on the team. If you do not wish to be called Mrs. Rogers, I can revert to using your first name for all forthcoming interactions. I apologize if I have made an error._ ”

“ _No error, J. I appreciate the respect, thanks, but I’m not Steve, so just Darcy will do fine. Thanks for the lift, Jarvis._ ” The elevator doors opened on a glass wall, behind which was the indoor training facility. She could see Thor practicing with Mjolnir, and Jane propped up in a corner, a scientific journal in her lap. Every time she turned a page, Jane would glance up at Thor with such pure adoration on her face that Darcy almost felt she was intruding into something private, something just for the two of them. And then Jane saw her.

“ _DARCY! Darcy! HI HI HI HI HI!_ ” Jane came barreling out of the gym, smashing into Darcy with the force of a small hurricane. She wrapped her arms around Darcy in a tight hug, and Darcy couldn’t help but reciprocate. “ _How are you? How’s Joey? How’s Steve? I heard they found Bucky? Is he okay? Is he coming here? What happened to SHIELD? What are you doing here?_ ”

“ _Whoa, chatterbox, whoa. How much caffeine have you had today? Is anyone monitoring your coffee intake anymore? When’s the last time you slept?_ ”

“ _Oh, Darcy, I’m fine._ ” Jane hooked her arm through Darcy’s and led her back to the gym, both of them waving at Thor as he lifted a small boulder. “ _How is my nephew? Anything new and exciting going on?_ ”

“ _Not much, let’s see, my husband’s dead best friend attacked him on orders from HYDRA, his employer pretty much imploded because of Steve’s own actions, he’s out hunting previously mentioned dead BFF now with Nat and some guy named Sam, oh, and I think I’m pregnant again. So nothing exciting, just a normal day for me. How about you?_ ”

“ _D, I heard about Bucky and Steve. Bruce actually debriefed me and Thor on it, wanting to know if I would work with him and Tony to help assist Bucky in any way we can if Steve does find him and bring him…wait, did you say pregnant?!? How far along? Does Steve know? What do you mean, you think?_ ” Jane was practically jumping on Darcy for answers, and Thor had overheard ‘pregnant’ and dropped his boulder, heading their way.

Darcy nodded, looking from her friend to Thor and back again. “ _I think, I mean, I’m pretty sure. Same symptoms as with Joey, but Bruce is running a test for me right now. He says he’ll let me know when it’s done._ ”

“ _Oh, my little lightning sister! This is most wonderous news! Has Steven been told? Surely the Hawkeye knows where he is, I could fly to his side and share this fantastic information with him and Natasha._ ” Thor was beaming, patting Darcy on the back and talking so loudly Darcy was sure Clint had heard by now, given his tendency to lurk.

 _“Hey, creepy stalker, c’mon down._ ” Darcy spoke up to the rafters, and both Jane and Thor looked confused. They were only baffled for a second, and then Clint jumped down from a shadowy corner, in full stealth gear with his bow strapped to his back.

“ _I am not a creepy stalker. I am Hawkeye. It is my job to watch from above, Super Soldier Baby Mama. In your case, I lurk ‘cause then I can tell Cap I was protecting you. He’s worse than Bruce when he’s angry. God, you look awful. You must be pregnant_.” Clint had a wry smile on his face as he elbowed his way between Jane and Thor, pulling Darcy into a hug. “ _I’ve missed you around here, Boobs McGee. It can get boring with all these scientists. Come back to meeee!_ ” Darcy and Clint had unofficially met in New Mexico, when Darcy had seen and spoken to him briefly while SHIELD was returning Jane’s research. The story goes that Darcy called him something like “ _Hot Arms McSpandex_ ”, and he referred to her as “ _The one with the mouth and the rack_ ”. A friendship grew when Jane started working closer with Tony and SHIELD, dragging Darcy along for the ride. He paused from withdrawing from their hug with his hand on her belly, and looked at her face. “ _Another Teeny Tiny Cap, huh? I mean, the first one sure is cute, but did you really need a matching set?_ ”

“ _I don’t know for sure yet, but yea, Robin Hood. Another teeny tiny Cap. Problem?_ ”

“ _Never, sweetheart. If you’re happy, I’m happy. I really did miss you, ya know._ ” Clint wasn’t usually this expressive, Darcy thought. She’d have to get him alone later and find out what was going on.

“ _I gotta pee. What time is it?_ ” Darcy looked down at her phone. “ _Shoot, it’s 12:50. Time for lunch in Chez Stark. You guys coming?_ ” While Thor, Clint, and Jane gathered their belongings, Darcy popped into the locker room. Just as she was drying off her hands, Jarvis spoke quietly.

“ _Darcy, I have the results of your blood test. Dr. Banner says you can come down to his lab after munch if you’d like him to tell you, or I can tell you now. I have activated privacy protocols on this room, so no one can hear me but you. Which would you prefer?_ ”

“ _Hit me, J._ ”

“ _Your results are positive, Mrs. Rogers. Congratulations. Dr. Banner recommends an appointment with the OB-GYN you used last time at your earliest convenience. Would you like me to schedule that for you?_ ”

“ _Sure, J. Thanks._ ” Darcy answered the AI, but her mind was already elsewhere, her hands on her stomach as she began to speak again. “ _Hello, little one. Your father and I are so happy to have you, and we love you so very much. Your brother is gonna love you, too, and man do you have a big crazy family out here waiting for you. I can’t wait to meet you, peanut._ ” She pressed a kiss to her own fingertips and touched them to her tummy, and then pulled her sweater back down and left the room, to join her big crazy family for lunch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all again for reading! I adore you all, this has become so much fun for me!!!!  
> Next up: A visit from Steve, Darcy finds out the sex of the baby, and Bruce gets the results of his testing.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint rescues Darcy from the monotony of her current existence, and Darcy and Steve fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so here's what happened...I intended an entirely different chapter. Somehow, Darcy & Clint, Sassy BFFs wormed their way into my brain and would not leave. So the intended chapter will be up either Friday or Saturday, with Steve returning, gender reveal, and the results of Bruce's testing. However, here is a little Darcy & Clint, sweetness & snark to get you through Hump Day.

Steve had been gone for eight weeks. Two freakin months. Joey’s birthday had come and gone, and although the team had thrown him a huge party, and given him more gifts than he could ever need, it just wasn’t the same without Steve. Nat had come back about three weeks into the hunt, picked up some tech from Stark, and left again, and Steve video called every Friday, without fail, but Darcy was getting cranky. Darcy, at 14 ½ weeks, was just barely showing, and had started prepping the nursery with help from Jane, Pepper, and Clint. Clint had painted the former office a beautiful spring green, Jane and Pepper had brought a stunning white crib, changing table, and rocking chair, and Tony had even done his part, presenting Darcy with giant transfers of some of Steve’s drawings that she could attach to the nursery walls. Everything was going along perfectly, except she was doing it alone. Darcy sat in the new rocking chair, Joey napping in his room next door, and relived the fight her and Steve had had the night before.

> “Damn it, Steve, I’ve been patient. The model of patience and support. But you’ve been gone two months, chasing a ghost, and I feel alone. I signed up to be your wife, to have a family with you and to grow old together, as much as that’s possible. I did not sign up to be a single parent. **Come home already**.”
> 
> “Darce.” Steve was hurt, she could hear it. “I love you doll, so much that it hurts me every day I’m away. But this is not just any mission, it’s Bucky. If it was you, or Joey, and you were somewhere, lost and alone and probably scared, I wouldn’t stop until I found you either. I’m sure I’m pushing this to the limit of your tolerance here, but I just have to find him. Please try to understand, sweetheart.”
> 
> “I do understand, Steve. I think I understand better than you know. But you missed your son’s second birthday. I’m designing a nursery alone, at three months pregnant, and you haven’t even been home to share this excitement with me for a minute. I need you here sometimes, Steve. I know Bucky needs you, or at least you think he does, but we need you too. I have an appointment in ten days, Steve, for the first ultrasound. If you miss that, I might not forgive you. I hate to deliver an ultimatum, I know your heart is in the right place, but enough is enough. Make that appointment, or find somewhere else to sleep when you do come back.”

Darcy had disconnected then, and turned off her Starkpad so he couldn’t call her back. She felt terrible. Like she was being the worse wife ever. But why couldn’t he see she needed him? Why couldn’t he see she was scared? Her phone chimed, interrupting her voyage into guilt trip city, and she read a text from Clint.

**HAWKGUY:** Let’s go out 4 lunch, I’ll pick you  & Little Man up in 20.

**DARCY:** IDK, I’m not feeling up to it.

**HAWKGUY:** You’re pregnant, not dying. Get dressed, lazy ass. Not takin no for an answer.

Darcy got up from the chair and headed to her bedroom, pulling on a t shirt and jeans, and grabbing her well-worn red chucks from the closet. She heard Joey beginning to stir, so she went and got him ready, as he chattered about talking to Steve the night before and when he was going to get his birthday gift from Annie Nat, who had promised him one when she got back. Clint let himself in and strolled into Joey’s room, then reached down and scooped up the little boy and his shoes.

> “Finish getting ready, Darce. I’ve got him.”

Clint carried Joey into the living room and sat him down on the couch, fastening the boy’s shoes and zipping him into his coat. Darcy yanked her hair up into a messy bun, slid on her own shoes, and pulled on a hoodie.

> “Are we walking or driving?”

She asked as she entered the living room, and stopped as she saw Joey perched on Clint’s shoulders, the boy’s umbrella stroller tucked under one of Clint’s arms.

> “Walking, then.”

She picked up her phone, wallet, and keys, stuffed them into Joey’s diaper bag, and they left the apartment.

> “Unkie Quint, Unkie Quint!”

Joey smacked both hands down on Clint’s head as they walked down the street, then started frantically pointing at the park on the corner.

> “Play! Swing, swide, play play play!”

Clint chuckled and looked to Darcy for approval, starting to cross the street when she nodded.

> “Okay, little man. Let’s go play, and then we’ll go get some lunch. What should we do first?”
> 
> “Swide, Unkie Quint. Swide, swide, swide.”

Joey was almost vibrating with excitement, and as soon as Clint set him down inside the park he took off, stopping at the foot of a small slide to wait for Clint. Darcy folded herself onto the top of a picnic table, snapping pictures on her phone and laughing at their silly antics. Clint was wonderful with Joey, always taking the time to talk to him and play with him. It was a different relationship than Joey and Tony, or even Joey and Steve. An older woman stopped next to Darcy, catching her attention and voicing what she probably thought was a sweet compliment.

> “You have a beautiful family, young lady. Your son is adorable, and I sure wouldn’t kick your husband out of bed.”

Darcy thanked the woman, how could she know that Clint was a friend and not Joey’s dad? It wasn’t easy to tell, watching them play. After about 30 minutes, Clint came over carrying Joey, and then buckled him into his stroller for the walk to the restaurant.

> “So, Hawkguy, that little old lady over there…” Darcy pointed across the park “…she told me a little while ago that she wouldn’t kick you out of bed. Interested?”
> 
> “Nah, Princess Pregnant, I only have eyes for you.”

Clint wiggled his eyebrows at her and looped his arm though hers, pushing the stroller towards the street corner. Joey was looking around, babbling about birds and people and cars, and Darcy let out a deep breath. She was content, spending the day with one of her best friends and her son, but she would feel much happier if it was Steve pushing the stroller and talking to Joey.

> “Hey, earth to Darcy. Ya in there? I asked where you wanted to eat. There’s a pizza place down the street.”
> 
> “Sounds good, Barton. Sorry, I just wandered for a minute there.”
> 
> “Pizza!”

Joey squealed in happiness as Clint laughed.

> “There’s a kid after my own heart. He likes birds, and pizza, and naps. Are you sure he’s not mine, Co-Captain America?”

Darcy laughed, and then looked Clint right in the eyes.

> “Trust me, Legolas. If we’d made a baby, you’d remember. I am pretty damn unforgettable. And really, really loud.”

Clint’s eyes got wide, and he tapped the almost invisible hearing aid in his ear.

> “I must have heard that wrong, did you just go all sexual innuendo on me, Darcy Rogers? That behavior is unfitting for the wife of an American icon. Shame on you.”

Darcy elbowed him in the ribs as they moved to sit at a sidewalk table outside the pizzeria. Clint ordered a large pie, half pepperoni for him and Joey; half bacon, pineapple, and jalapeno for Darcy. They ate their lunch in peace, and walked back to the apartment, Clint putting Joey down for his nap as Darcy sat down to put her feet up for a few minutes.

> “Clint, do you think I’m being too hard on Steve? That I’m not being supportive enough?” Before Clint could answer, his phone alarm tone went off, calling him back to the Tower. “What’s up, Cupid?”
> 
> “Looks like a full Assemble, Stark’s saying it might even be a code green.”

Darcy’s eyes brightened, looking hopefully at Clint.

> “A full Assemble? Steve and Nat too, then?”
> 
> “Yea, cupcake, Steve and Nat too. Stark and Banner may have found the base where they’re holding Loki’s mind fucker stick. Gotta go get it before anyone else gets hurt. That’s a whole team job.”

Clint bolted into Darcy’s bathroom, coming back out less than two minutes later in full stealth gear, stuffing his civvies into a go bag.

> “Time for me to leave, want to come to the Tower? Jane and Pepper are there, and we should only be gone a day or two. When we get back, you’d be right there to see Steeeeeve.”

Clint blinked his eyes at her, looking less like the lovesick fangirl he intended and more like he had something in his eyes.

> “Nah, I’ll keep in touch with Jane and head over when you guys are heading back. Thanks though.”

Clint flipped a salute at her as he strode out the door, and she was alone. Again.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 outta 3 ain't bad, right? Steve and the team come home from the Assemble, Bruce gives Darcy the results of the blood test, and Ultron awakens.   
> Next week the sex of the baby and the dr appt, I promise.

Funny thing was, Jane wasn’t in the Tower. She was on a research adventure with her new intern, Meg. And Pepper was out, conquering the world. So there was no one for Darcy to keep in contact with. She headed over to her office, Joey in tow, and set some alerts through Jarvis while she was there. After they returned home, Darcy and Joey ate dinner, and then she put him to bed. She wasn’t expecting any notification until morning, anyway. Around 3am, her phone started buzzing. First it was Jarvis, letting her know that the Avengers would be returning around 8am. Then it was Steve.

“Hey, Darce. Barton told me you knew about the Assemble, so I wanted to let you know I’m okay. Text me back if you’re up, I’ll call you.”

Darcy sat up in bed and responded immediately, and the phone rang soon after.

“Sweetheart, I’m sorry. I know you’re feeling alone. I’m coming home. Now, I need you to stay calm, okay, it’s nothing serious, but Clint was hit.”

“Clint?” Darcy croaked out his name, her brain replaying his sarcastic smile and their friendly banter, which usually gave her life on days when she felt most alone. “Where was he hit? Who’s taking care of him? Is he coming home? Tell me everything, Steve. Now.”

“He got a little banged up. There were some new players in the mix, ones we weren’t expecting, and they got the drop on us before we could figure out what was going on. He got hit in the side, Nat’s tending him now, but Dr. Cho is meeting us at the Tower to take care of him as soon as we land. I’ll be home in a few hours. Want me to come get you when we get back?”

“No, I’ll come to the Tower. I’ll wake Joey now and head over there, and I can put him back to bed there. He’ll be asleep when you get in, but we’ll be there. I love you. Take care of Clint for me, okay?” Darcy was shaken. She’d seen them with minor injuries before, hell she’d seen Thor pretty much die in New Mexico, but this felt different. This was Clint. As much as she worried for him, she also felt guilty, because she was relieved it wasn’t Steve. Being part of a superhero gang was an emotional roller coaster, that’s for sure.

“Love you too, doll. Can’t wait to see you. Clint will be fine, I promise. Give Joey a kiss for me, I’ll be home soon.”

The line disconnected, and Darcy grabbed her own go bag, and Joey’s. If Clint was hurt, he’d be staying at the Tower. So they would be, too. She threw a few extra items in there, clothes for Steve and a few of Joey’s favorite books, her phone charger and laptop, and then woke her son. The sleepy boy roused long enough to whine at her, stick his thumb in his mouth, and fall back asleep, his head lolling on her shoulder. Locking the apartment, she got Joey buckled in and drove to the Tower, parking in the underground garage and carrying the still sleeping boy upstairs. She got him settled in the crib Tony had thoughtfully provided in Steve’s suite, and closed the door on his peaceful slumber before she spoke to Jarvis.

“J, full monitor on Joey. I’m going to the common lounge. Let me know if he wakes, or seems in any type of distress. Please.”

“Certainly, Darcy. I will watch him myself.”

Darcy climbed onto the modern style leather couch in the common area, and grabbed the remote. She turned on Netflix, selected “The Princess Bride”, and settled in. She must have fallen asleep, and woke to the sounds of the Helicarrier landing on the pad. She got to the doorway just in time to see Clint wheeled off the aircraft on a gurney, Nat beside him and the medical team rushing in. Bruce and Thor were next off, passing Maria as she headed in. Steve and Tony must be shutting down the plane, getting everything settled and squared away for the next flight. A few minutes later, as she stood, palm pressed to the glass window, Steve emerged from the plane. His eyes scanned the building, landing on her, and she pulled away from the glass and hurried to the doors as he broke into a run. Lifting her off her feet and swinging her around, Steve pressed kisses to her collarbone, neck, cheeks, and shoulders, then lowered her to the ground gently. He snared her mouth with his own, his kiss both reassuring and demanding, and Darcy pressed into him, groaning with need.

“Christ, Darce.” Steve broke the kiss, panting slightly, and entwined his fingers with hers. “Kiss me like that again and we will need to find someplace more private. How are you? How’s Joey? And the little one?” He glanced down at her stomach, and a smile appeared. “What do you think, sweetheart? Is this one a he or a she?” Darcy stood there, half listening, and breathing him in. Two months was too long. She’d missed the warmth of his smile, the sweet way he looked after her, that earthy, salty smell that was so distinctly Steve. Like the air after a spring rain, and the ocean on a clear day, all she knew was that he smelled like home to her. He had a few things he needed to take care of, she knew, and she wanted to check on Clint, so she reluctantly released his hand. He looked at her again, and nodded. “I need to be debriefed, and Maria and I have a few things to go over. Go see Clint. I’ll come find you when I’m done. I love you, gorgeous.”

She kissed his cheek, and took off, heading right to the med bay where she found Nat and Tony hovering, and Clint somewhat upright drinking a green smoothie. Tony held one out to her, and she took it, sipping as she walked to Clint’s left side, opposite where the injury was. Some kind of machine was hovering over him, it looked to be rebuilding the damaged tissue. “What’s the deal, Katniss? You gonna survive?”

“Yea, yea, I’ll be fine. No one’s dying here today. On the plus side, they’re turning me into a Ken Doll!” Clint poked his chin at the machine, and grunted. “How do you feel about plastic, DD?”

She smiled at him, and then started slapping his good shoulder, over and over again. “Don’t fucking do this to me, Barton. You are not allowed to die. Do you hear me? NOT. ALLOWED. I swear on all that is holy, you die on me and I will get Bruce to Hulk-scream you back to life just so I can kill you again. SLOWLY. Are we clear?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Natasha stood in the corner, smirking, and Tony looked odd, like he wasn’t sure if he was terrified or turned on.

“Natasha, don’t even look at me like that. You’ll threaten him about it too, you’ll just be quieter.”

Jarvis broke into the conversation. “Pardon me, Darcy, but Joey appears to be waking up. His breathing has become shallow, and he’s starting to stir. Would you like me to alert one of the staff?”

“No thanks, J-Man. I’ll get him. Tell Steve he’s waking up, would you? See you idiots later, duty calls.” Darcy left the room, took the elevator to the floor Steve’s suite was on, and was walking through the suite towards the boy’s room when she heard Joey speaking to Steve.

“Pop! You back! Did you find new Unkie? Did Annie Nat bing me a pressie? Where’s Mama?”

Steve chuckled, and she changed course, heading to the kitchen; pulling down cereal boxes and getting the milk out of the fridge. She started up the coffee machine, and was cutting up oranges when the boys came in.

“Mama! Yook, Pop home! We not home, we at the Towa, but Pop here! I can has Lucky Charms to eat, Mama?”

“Sure, sweetie. You can have Lucky Charms. And then we’ll go play with Uncle Thor and Auntie Nat, okay?” Just as she was promising Joey some fun, Jarvis spoke.

“Darcy, Captain Rogers. Dr. Banner requests your presence in his lab at your earliest convenience. Prince Thor heard of Dr. Banner’s request, and his on his way to your quarters now to supervise Joseph. Shall I tell Dr. Banner you will be arriving shortly?”

“Sure, J-man. As soon as Thor gets here, we’ll head to the lab.” Darcy poured Steve and herself coffee, and set to doctoring hers up as he did the same to his. Thor knocked on the door, and Steve called out for him to let himself in. After making sure Joey was okay, Darcy and Steve went to the lab.

“Darcy. Captain. Hi. I’m going deep into this scepter of Loki’s, so I wanted to talk to you first about the results of Darcy’s blood work. Now, keep in mind that these results could be skewed because you’re carrying a child, but your levels are very interesting, very interesting indeed. If it’s not the new baby that we’re reading, it appears that you have contracted certain parts of the serum, specifically the healing factor and the endurance. While your levels are nowhere near Steve’s, you do have a faster metabolism than the average human, and that intrigues me. I wonder if after the child arrives, you’d be willing to submit to some stress tests and things to explore this further.” Bruce looked excited, and Darcy was stunned.

“Steve! Steve you gave me some kind of super soldier juju and now I’m like you! Not that it’s a bad thing, but damn! I’m Captain America 2.0!!!!” Steve smirked as she grinned at Bruce. “Sure, Hulkster, test away! Nothing too painful, or invasive, or potentially lethal, but otherwise, why not?!?”

As they left the lab, Steve started talking about the party Tony was planning for Friday night. “Rhodey’s inviting some guys from the local VA, Dr. Cho is staying, and Maria is even planning to hang around. Pepper and Jane are too buried in what they’re doing to come back just for a party, but otherwise everyone will be attending. Feel like being my date, gorgeous?”

“Sure, Steve. But don’t forget that we need a sitter for Joey. Maybe Tony has someone on staff, or can recommend someone?”

 

 

Never normal, Darcy thought as Steve shoved her behind a couch. Something was happening, something scary, and her son was upstairs, alone with a sitter she didn’t know. Some kind of robot had gone on a rampage, shooting at the team and claiming something about ‘peace in our time’. She was in her party dress, stuck between the couch and the wall, which Steve had kindly turned into a safe zone of sorts. She could hear the fighting, the gunshots and the horrible, horrible sounds of her husband and friends facing another dangerous enemy. She could see, out of the corner of her eye, Dr. Cho cowering behind a piano. Ten minutes ago, they had been taking turns trying to lift Mjolnir, and now they were fighting for their lives. Her hands started shaking when she heard Clint’s battle voice yell out “CAP!” and she feared for Steve. Then, as suddenly as it began, it was over. Still shaking, she climbed over the couch when Rhodey extended a hand to help her. Steve was glaring at Tony, an anger there she couldn’t decipher, and Clint looked stunned. Natasha looked mostly whole, and Bruce was still Bruce, not the Other Guy. Darcy wrapped an arm around her middle and walked to Steve, worry furrowing his brow as he placed both palms on her barely there bump. “Are you okay? Is the baby okay? Do you need anything?” Steve was as close to panic as Darcy had ever seen him, and she placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“I’m fine, sweetheart. Baby is good, I think. But Steve, Joey. He’s upstairs, safe I’m sure, but if he heard any of this he’s probably scared out of his mind!” Darcy felt like the worst mother ever. In her panic over Steve, she had forgotten about her son. What kind of mother forgets her own son?!? She bolted for the elevator, Steve and Thor outpacing her within seconds. Steve voiced a command for their floor, once, twice, then three times. Nothing happened. Both men looked bewildered, and Darcy held back a snarky comment as she reached for the elevator buttons. Jarvis’s absence was unusual, but perhaps Tony had him working exclusively on something related to the murder bot. When the doors opened, Steve and Thor rushed to the apartment, bursting in on a very startled (and possibly half asleep) Stark Industries employee.

“WHERE IS THE BOY?” Thor thundered, bearing down on the poor guy with Steve right behind him.

“Joey- is he okay? Is he here?” Darcy stepped between the two raging mountains of testosterone and the smaller man, she wasn’t much of a protector but what the hell.

“Yyyyyesss…ma’am. He was asleep when I checked fifteen minutes ago. Is everything…alright?” The man was shaking, probably from the presence of two full blown Avengers looking like they might snap him in half. Steve and Thor pretty much ran down the hall, Steve gesturing for Thor to slow down and slipping seamlessly into stealth mode. He opened Joey’s door, glanced in, and visibly relaxed. They both came down the hall, and headed straight for the door again.

“Darce, I have to talk to Stark. He did this, I don’t know why, or how, but he did. Time for some answers. Stay here with Joey, we’ll come to you when we find anything out. I love you.” He caressed her abdomen and pressed a kiss to her forehead, and she nodded.

“Go get ‘em, Cap.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I adore you all. I recently found a beta, so this might be the last unbeta'd chapter you see from me. From faults entirely my own, I haven't gotten together with her yet to get us organized. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!!!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for another short one, guys. The muse is being a bitch, and I can't quite get this where I want it to go.

“So Tony and Bruce built a MurderBot? Seriously?” Darcy stared at Steve as he dressed- the thing that called itself Ultron was on the move, and the team was headed out after it. “And Clint is going with you? He was just injured!”

“Sweetheart, he’s fine. We need all hands on deck for this one, if Ultron gets his hands on all that vibranium it will be disastrous. We’ll be back in a few days. I’m going to miss your appointment, most likely, and I’m really sorry, but please try to understand Darcy. I have to do this. I can stay at Nat’s if this is too much, if you need some time away. Or I can have Tony set me up a separate apartment here in the building. I love you, doll, but I have to go.”

“Oh, Steve. I’m so sorry. I never should have told you that. I need you here, I want you here. I’ll be finding out the baby’s gender this week, so I can prepare, do you want to know? I know you did with Joey, you came to every appointment, but this time is different and I just want you to be here when the little one arrives. With me, with us.”

Steve smiled as he headed to the apartment door, clipping his shield onto his back. “I’ll always come home to you, beautiful. You know what, I don’t want to know. As long as the baby is healthy, and you are too, that’s all I need to know. I’m rarely surprised, it’ll be fun.”

They went through their goodbye ritual, and he left to join the team. It had been decided that Darcy and Joey would stay in the Tower while the team was hunting Ultron, the security was better and Steve would worry less. Plus, Hill was staying too, and overseeing the operation, so she could keep Darcy updated.

Darcy was playing with Joey in the common room, cartoons on the TV and toys strewn across the floor, when Maria appeared in the doorway, ashen faced and avoiding Darcy’s eyes.

“Something happened, Darcy. They were there, the Maximoff twins, and they decimated the team.”

‘Decimated?!” Darcy’s heart leapt into her throat, panic settling over her like a cloud. “Is Steve…” she couldn’t bring herself to finish the question.

“Everyone is alive, Darcy. Maybe not well, but alive. They’re going underground for a while. Banner had an extremely aggressive reaction to the female Maximoff’s powers, and he destroyed a good portion of the closest city before Stark could subdue him. They’ve got a target on their backs now. Barton is piloting the plane to a secure, private location. They’ll check in, I hope, but they won’t be coming home anytime soon. I’ll update you as I get any new information.” Hill turned to leave, and then spoke to Darcy one more time. “Cap was attacked by the girl as well, Darcy. I don’t know what he saw, what she showed him, but you should be prepared. We know she showed Stark his greatest fear, I’d imagine the same is true for him.” Maria left, Darcy assumed she was returning to the command room, and Joey pressed against Darcy’s calf.

"Mama, Mama. I need snack. Snack and juice. When Pop come home?”

Darcy scooped the boy up, nuzzling into his downy hair, and inhaled shakily. “I don’t know, pal, I don’t know. Let’s get you that snack.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy finds out the sex of the new Rogers, and gets an unexpected visitor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long, faithful readers. Life got in the way. I'll try and be more diligent in the future.

Darcy sat in the waiting room, twisting her fingers together and compulsively checking her phone. Steve and the team had been MIA for two days, and Hill would only tell her they were “safe at a secure location”. She was worried about Steve, and Bruce, and Clint, and Nat. The nurse called her name, and she followed her to the exam room as they exchanged pleasantries. The exam was short and everything was normal, and the doctor guided her to the ultrasound room. The tech smiled as she found the baby in Darcy’s womb, then asked for the last time “Are you sure you want to know?”

Darcy walked back to the tower, the ultrasound photos in her bag hiding the baby’s gender, and suddenly stopped dead on the street. No more than fifteen feet in front of her was a man, a man with longer brown hair, broad shoulders, and a few days worth of stubble. And he was staring right back at her. She reached into her bag, pulling out her phone and her taser. Taking a few more steps forward, she held the taser to her side and spoke loudly enough that he would hear her and know she was addressing him. “I know who you are. If you’re not here to harm anyone, if you’re looking for me or for Steve, follow me to a safe place we can talk. If you’re here for any other reason, know that I’m never totally alone, and I will fight you with every fiber of my being to protect my family.” The dark man nodded once and shifted to the side, allowing Darcy to pass him and then following behind her.

 

 

She entered the residential lobby of Stark tower, missing the standard “Good afternoon, Darcy” that Jarvis always greeted her with. She strode the length of the room quickly, stopping at the concierge desk within reach of the room’s panic button. Pressing that little red and gold button would lock the whole building down, call in security (and Hill), and any Avenger nearby. She didn’t think he was here to hurt her, he’d had plenty of chances to do that on the walk home, but she felt safer knowing help was just a finger’s breadth away. He had entered the building shortly behind her, glanced around the room, and placed himself with his back to a wall, his right side within thirty feet of the door. He was sizing her up, and she was doing the same.

“Mrs. Rogers, I assume? Stevie sure married up. I’m James, at your service. Can I come closer, or are you gonna push that little button and cause us both a lot of headaches?”  He flashed her a roguish grin, and took a small step forward. “I know I tend to freak people out. It’s the hardware, I think.” He waved his metal hand at her with a rueful smile. “But given that you’re married to Stevie, I’m banking that you don’t scare easy. Can we talk, kitten?” He spread his arms out to show her he meant no harm, and Darcy found herself nodding and stepping towards him. Then she noticed a dark stain on the side of his hoodie, and stopped.

“Are you hurt, James? We have excellent medical staff that would help you, I could arrange that. And then we could talk.” His eyes flashed confusion, then reluctance.

“Um, it’s not mine. It’s a long, long story, but I’m fine. I’ll tell you about it later, if we’re still getting along. Can we talk here, or do you wanna take me upstairs?” He winked, and she saw the Bucky that Steve had told her about, the charming, charismatic lady killer, for just an instant before he was replaced by the wary, alert soldier Bucky had become.

“Excuse me, Mr. Barnes, I am a married woman. And even if I was not, you couldn’t handle me on your best day. So get your mind out of the gutter, and I’ll gladly talk with you. I need to let someone know you’re here, and make some quick arrangements. For my own protection, you understand.” She pulled her phone from her jeans pocket, where she had stuck it after she saw Bucky on the street, and speed dialed Steve. No answer. Again. With a frustrated sigh, she found Hill in the contact list and called her. “Maria, it’s Darcy. Yes, I know he’s here. No, I do not need support. James and I are going to go up to the apartment. I need you to have the agent up there now remove J, and station a few new agents outside. I’m also giving you authorization to visually monitor us in there. No audio, just visual observation. Thank you.” Darcy put the phone back in her pocket and nodded to Bucky, and he took a few more steps across the lobby. “No one here will harm you, James. They don’t want to piss me off. Last time that happened, it got bad. Let’s just leave it at that.” She gestured toward the elevator, and then remembered that when Steve returned from deep missions, he preferred the stairs. “You know what, I could use the exercise. Feel like climbing 23 flights of stairs with me, James? I could use a buddy, in case I give up. Or die.”

He flashed that dangerous smile at her again, and shook his head. “I never had the same issues with small spaces that Stevie did. The elevator is fine, sweetheart.”

“Steve’s claustrophobic? I never knew that. He hides it well. Well, James, let’s go upstairs.”

They stood uncomfortably in the elevator, him all the way to the right and her all the way to the left. Darcy noticed a pattern, that he seemed to always have the metal arm unencumbered, and the flesh one on the more secure side. She wondered if that was trained into him by HYDRA, or if it was instinct. When they reached her and Steve’s floor, and exited the elevator, she nodded to the two agents in the foyer and the one guarding the staircase door. “Mrs. Rogers, ma’am. All has been done as you requested. Use your panic word if needed, and we will be in to assist you immediately.” All three agents had their hands on their weapons, which seemed to make James nervous, as he was rotating his metal arm slightly and clenching that hand into a fist. She unlocked the apartment door and ushered him inside, throwing her keys and purse on the hall table. Darcy shrugged off her coat and threw it on the bench, and then followed James as he walked through her living room, perusing photos and knick knacks.

“Is this….” His voice cracked, and he shook his head as if to clear it. “Is this your son? Steve’s son?” He was holding a framed photo of Joey in his normal hand, looking stunned and a little teary.

“Yes. He’s the J I was referring to Maria having removed from the apartment. I’m pretty sure you’re not going to hurt me, but until we’re on better footing I’d prefer to keep Joey out of this. He’s two, and the light of our lives. Soon to be a big brother. He’s named after you, you know. Joseph Buchanan Lewis Rogers. Steve insisted.”

“Aw, dammit punk.” James seemed to crumple in front of her, sinking to the floor with the picture still in his hand. When Darcy moved to comfort him, he held up his hand. “I’m….I’m fine, kitten. I just need a minute. And maybe a drink?”

_WTF is it with these superheroes and their nicknames?_ Darcy thought to herself as she poured a glass of iced tea in the kitchen. _Steve calls me Doll, Gorgeous, or Miss Lewis; Clint goes with Princess Pregnant and Boobs McGee; and now this one is calling me Kitten. Do I look so innocent? Doesn’t he realize that if he makes a move to hurt me, hurt this baby, or hurt my boys, I will do my damnedest to gut him like a fish? And that there will be a line of heroes and assassins to avenge me if I fail? HA! AVENGE…Avengers Avenging….oh man I need sleep. Steve, where are you?_ _What am I supposed to do here? Your long dead war buddy turned immortal-ish HYDRA assassin just showed up at our doorstep and now he’s in our living room. I’m scared, and feel so sad for him, and I just don’t know what to do! And now I’m in the kitchen, talking to myself, and I probably look crazy. Perfect._ Darcy grabbed both glasses, took a deep breath, and went back to the living room. She found James in the armchair Steve preferred, the one in a corner of the room. “So, James Buchanan Barnes, you said we needed to talk. I brought you here, I kept you safe, and you’re in my home. So talk.”

“Okay, Kitten. You say you know who I am. But you don’t know what I’ve done. I won’t tell you the names of the people I murdered, the way their faces looked as I tortured them, who they cried out for or cursed in their very last moments. I can tell you’ve got a big heart. I don’t think you could ever even think about letting me into your home if you knew half of it. I came looking for you, not Steve. I thought it would be easier. To talk to you. To explain to you. I was wrong. You love him, and I thought…I don’t know what I thought. You and Steve…it’s good. Your babies…his babies…it’s so good. So right, for Steve to have a beautiful wife and a happy family. I don’t fit in this picture.” He held up the pregnancy announcement Darcy and Steve had made for their friends and family, a candid shot of them holding Joey’s hands, and him wearing an ‘I’m Gonna Be A Big Brother’ shirt.

“James, you are in that picture. Steve carries you everywhere he goes. Joey carries your name. You are there. You’ve always been there.” Darcy could feel a little piece of her heart breaking for him. She wanted nothing more in that moment than to envelop this shattered man in a warm hug, like she did with Joey when he was upset. She sensed, however, that this was not the kind of man you just hugged. You might get killed for the attempt.

“Sure, Kitten. Let’s just stick the scary assassin with the metal arm right there by the innocent looking child and the man who stands for all that’s good and right in the world. Maybe Steve and I could each have a palm on your belly. Can’t you just see it?” He spat out his thoughts with a sneer, and Darcy could feel her fear melting away into anger.

“You know what, James Buchanan Barnes? You can go straight to hell, and fuck yourself on the trip. Steve loves you. I love Steve, so I love you. I know Joey will love you, if you decide to let him. **WE** have been here, worrying about you, looking for you, Steve and his team have been wandering the globe desperately searching for any sign of you, and here you sit, telling me you don’t fit in here? This is the only place you can ever fit in, _**BUCKY**_. Because this is your home. **WE** are your family. So if you want to pull this ‘I’m all alone in the world, I have no one who understands me, no one who loves me’ bullshit, then get the hell out of my home. And don’t come back.” Darcy didn’t realize it, but she had been getting closer and closer to him, and by the time she spat out that last sentence, she had her finger right in Bucky’s face and was staring him down like a principal scolding a truant student. _Oh shit,_ she thought, when she registered her finger poking at him right between the eyes, _scary smoldering angsty assassin man is definitely gonna kill me now. It’s all over for me. Someone please clear my browser history._ Darcy flinched when Bucky let out a sudden, loud noise. She was even more startled when she realized it was a laugh. Before she knew what he was doing, he wrapped his normal arm around her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug, laughing so hard his whole body was shaking. “Is this some kind of bizarre torture technique? Are you trying to get me to lower my defenses or something? What the hell is going on?!?”

“HA. I can’t breathe. Wait a minute.” Bucky released his hold on her and back away, swiping at his eyes and taking a few deep breaths. “You….you tiny little thing…just stepped up to the most feared assassin in modern history, and shook your finger in his face. My handlers would have thirty to fifty guards in the room if they needed to get that close, and you just got right in there. I’ve made a mistake, Darcy Rogers. This whole time I’ve been calling you kitten, looking at you like some sort of pin up play wife that Steve lucked into, when all the while you’ve been a lioness, waiting for the right time to strike. I like you, you crazy little thing. I like you a lot. Punk did damn good. You’re just like him, I see. Itching for a fight, no matter how big the bad guy.” Bucky’s laughter continued as Darcy’s phone began to screech from her pocket. She knew that ringtone. It was a hawk, which could only mean one thing.

“HAWKGUY! You’re alive!!!” Darcy was overjoyed, until she heard the tone in Clint’s voice.

“I am, Darcy. We all are. And you and me, we gotta talk when I get back. But that’s not why I’m calling. We’re hunting Ultron, and heading to Sokovia. Steve asked me to call you, he’s in deep with Tony and Thor. We’re all okay, and we’re heading over to stop this guy. Also, we picked up the twins. They’re on our side now. I think. Gotta go, time to land the plane. Stay safe, Darce.”

Now it was Darcy’s turn to hit the floor. Bucky caught her before she went all the way down, and placed her on the couch. “Steve…” Darcy gasped out, struggling for air. “He’s going to war.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Want more? Want me to stop ruining your OTP? Let me know in the comments!


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